Black Panther Black PantherFrom the moment that Michael Eric Hill was born,
he was different. Brooklyn hospital doctors told his parents that he would
only live three weeks. Athyroid condition his mother had was believed to
have been passed along to her son, but Odie Hill had faith. She not only
believed her son would survive after spending three weeks hooked up to
tubes in the hospital, but being a deeply religious woman, she also
believed her son was meant for nothing less than greatness. Raised in the
neighborhood of Fort Greene, Brooklyn amidst such artists as Spike Lee,
Chris Rock and Rakim, Michael was surrounded by an undeniable energy that
he could not escape. At an early age, hip-hop not only found its way into
his home, but into his blood. Throwing concerts for his toys by gathering
them around the portable turntable in front of his Spiderman poster in the
living room, young Michael would play a mixture of songs by U.T.F.O.,
Roxanne Shante, Rod Stewart and Rick Springfield. This varied selection of
records would stay with him and help him develop his production and
deejaying style in the future. However, it was not until the day his
brother brought home the Run-DMC record “Sucker MCs” that his life forever
changed. Michael Hill later took on the name DJ Black Panther and began
releasing Monthly underground hip-hop mixtapes at a time when independent
music was not at the forefront. He was determined to carve his own path in
the music industry. DJ Honda took notice to his tapes and started buying
them directly to sell in Japan, furthering Panther’s name as well as his
brand. After the release of a double mixtape, Panther had enough money to
buy what would become his production weapon of choice, the MPC 200XL. In
2003 Black Panther put out his debut album “The Darkest Night Ever” on
Third Earth Music. All 17 tracks received nothing but positive feedback and
publicity from his fans and critics. The well-known website
www.Allhiphop.com featured him in the “Breeding Ground” section and
Elemental Magazine, Urb, XLR8, www.undergroundhiphop.com and more all
agreed that a fresh new talent had emerged. In 2005, after getting back
behind the turntables at clubs Panther hit the studio to work on his
sophomore album, “My Eternal Winter”. The project proved to be not just a
follow-up, but also a step above. “My Eternal Winter” has generated a lot
of buzz for Black Panther through reviews and interviews from around the
world. The second single from “My Eternal Winter“, entitled “The Half“,
featured Grammy Award winning songstress Maya Azucena and peaked at the
number 2 position on the internet music charts. Also with the release of
the album, “My Eternal Winter” Panther started his digital music label
Manekinekopro, which has released music from Respect Tha God (Perverted
Monks, Jeru, Afu-Ra). Respect single “I Rap 4” recently topped the Charts
on all the industry gauges (Rapattacklives, recordbreaker.com), Heatmakerz
latest Release “Ra Jah Ru meets The Heatmakerz” also found a home on
Manekinekopro. And most recently Manekinekopro records has been responsible
for the ReEmergence of the legendary emcee NINE (Whatcha Want, Make or
Take). Panther released “Shots Fired” by NINE(Brand
Narcotic/Manekinekopro). However, do not get it wrong Black Panther is
still very much a recording artist and he is Hard at work on his third
offering entitled “The Soul Eater”, pack with surprises and his
ever-evolving sound. The future holds many musical endeavors, and you may
ask what is next? A full-length album with the Grammy Award winning singer
Maya Azucena will be a great start.